Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps provided an update on the investigation during a federal court hearing.

Nine inmates were hurt last week in a fight that authorities suggest came after the arrest of a man trying to smuggle contraband into the prison. Epps said the investigation determined one guard was to escort an inmate into the prison yard to collect items that were to be tossed over the fence.

A Dec. 31 fight between two gangs left 16 inmates hurt at the central Mississippi prison.

Epps told U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves that both incidents were gang-related.